i  ijfiffi 


OF-CAl!FO% 


— 


Cleveland  Public  Schools. 


AN   ADDRESS 


THE  SPIRIT  OF   THE  TEACHER. 


GENERAL  TEACHERS'  MEETING, 

Saturday,  March  11,  1893. 


ANDREW    S.    DRAPER. 
Superintendent  of  Instruction. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 
Cleveland,  Ohio. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 

K  X  E  C  U  T I V  K   I )  K  1>  A  RT  M  K  N  T. 

190  Euclid  Ave. 

CLEVELAND,   OHIO,  March  16,   I89tf. 
HON.  A.  S.  DRAPER  : 

Superintendent  of  Instruction. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : — The  very  timely  and  able  address  on  "  The 
Spirit  of  the  Teacher,"  delivered  by  you  at  the  General  Teachers' 
Meeting,  at  the  Central  High  School,  onthe  llth,  inst.,  has  elicited 
high  commendation,  and  I  have  received  numerous  requests  for  its 
publication  from  supervisors,  teachers  and  citizens  interested  in  edu- 
cational work. 

I,  therefore,  respectfully  and  urgently  request  that  you  will  furnish 
me  with  a  copy  for  publication  in  phamphlet  form  for  distribution  to 
the  teaching  force  and  the  friends  of  our  public  schools. 

Sincerely  yours, 

H.    Q.    SARGENT, 

School  Director. 


CLEVELAND  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

OFFICE  OF  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

CLEVELAND,   OHIO.    March  20.    1893. 

HON.    H.    Q.    SARGENT  : 

School  Director. 

DEAR  SIR  : — Your  assurance  that  my  address  at  the  last 
General  Teachers'Meeting  was  received  with  unusual  favor  is  abundant 
compensation  for  its  preparation  and  gives  me  great  pleasure.  The 
manuscript  is  herewith  transmitted  for  the  use  you  suggest.  I  am, 
with  much  respect. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

A.  S.  DRAPER. 

Superintendent, 


Stack 
Annex 

5 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  TEACHER. 


Governments  are  formed  and  maintained,  for  personal 
safety  and  public  security.  All  well  ordered  governments 
are  institutional  as  well  as  constitutional.  They  are  consti- 
tutional in  that  they  rest  upon,  and  are  bound  together  by, 
written  laws  and  are  concluded  by  the  acts  of  the  law  makers 
and  the  determinations  of  courts  and  officers  ;  they  are 
institutional  in  that  the  purity  and  culture,  the  strength  and 
power,  aims  and  purposes,  of  the  national  life  are  determined 
by  the  habits  and  customs,  the  circumstances  and  needs  of 
the  people  ;  by  their  manner  of  living  and  power  of  endur- 
ance ;  by  the  plane  upon  which  their  thought  moves,  as  well 
as  by  its  strength  and  direction  ;  by  the  trend  of  their 
feelings  ;  by  the  opportunities  which  they  seek  and  the 
advantages  which  they  create  ;  by  the  ways  in  which  and 
the  purposes  for  which  they  associate  together  ;  by  the  or- 
ganizations which  they  effect,  the  structures  which  they 
erect,  the  enterprises  which  they  undertake,  and  the  works 
which  they  accomplish.  These  features  of  the  common  life 
of  the  people  give  rise  to  the  national  institutions,  and  these 
make  the  national  character.  Constitutions  are  steel  bands 
holding  a  people  together  from  without  ;  institutions  are 
furnaces  which  melt  their  lives  together  and  produce  chemical 
affinity  in  their  sentiments  and  feelings.  Constitutions  give 
form  and  lend  strength  to  the  national  organization  ;  insti- 

8068006 


tutions  determine  the  quality  and  power  of  the  national  life. 

THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM,  THE  GREATEST  OF   AMERICAN 

INSTITUTIONS. 

In  our  confederated  republic  there  is  one  institution 
which  towers  above  all  the  rest.  It?  is  the  institution  of  in 
stitutions.  It  is  unique  and  characteristic.  While  other 
nations  are  now  beginning  to  imitate  some  of  its  features, 
there  is  no  otherinstitution  in  the  world  with  its  purposes, 
its  aspirations  and  its  plan  of  organization.  It  was  not 
created,  it  has  grown.  It  has  been  developed  out  of  our 
experiences  and  been  formed  and  shaped  by  our  necessities. 
It  has  a  distinguishing  aim  in  view.  It  is  not  local,  but 
general.  It  has  all  the  means  of  the  people  behind  it,  and 
the  authority  of  the  sovereign  power  of  the  nation  permeates 
its  whole  being  and  may  be  manifest  in  its  every  act.  Open 
to  all,  free  from  intolerance,  declaring  the  universal  brother- 
hood of  man,  providing  an  equipment  for  any  livelihood, 
pointing  ambition  to  the  grandest  accomplishments,  the 
great  free-school  system  of  the  country  is,  at  once,  the  best 
exemplification  and  the  best  inspiration  of  American  charac- 
ter. It  is  the  cap-stone  of  our  temple,  and  it  holds  the  place 
of  honor  nearest  the  flag. 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 
It  is  my  purpose  today  to  speak  of  the  spirit  of  the 
school  system,  the  greatest  of  our  institutions.  By  this  I 
mean  not  the  visible  organization,  not  buildings,  not  devices, 
not  books,  not  regulations,  but  the  life  which  animates  and 
breathes  through  all  these  things.  We  are  accustomed  to  say 
that  the  teacher  makes  the  school,  and  we  say  rightly.  Then 
the  spirit  of  the  teacher  makes  the  spirit  of  the  school.  We 
are  wont  to  dwell  upon  the  competency  of  the  teacher  and  to 
multiply  and  emphasize  the  instrumentalities  which  enhance 
it.  When  we  speak  of  the  qualifications  of  the  teacher,  the 


practical  mind  goes  to  intellectual  strength,  to  knowledge  of 
affairs,  and  to  scholarly  attainments  ;  and  the  profes- 
sional mind  thinks  of  these  and  also  of  psychological 
investigations  and  of  pedagogical  training  and  experience. 
You  know  that  I  am  not  indifferent  to  these  things.  No 
teacher  can  be  proficient  whose  scholarship  is  not  broader 
and  deeper  than  the  mere  routine  of  her  grade.  One  who 
has  no  understanding  of  the  history  of  education,  of  the  pro- 
cesses of  mind  growth,  of  the  methods  which  experience 
has  shown  to  produce  desirable  results,  and  whose  mind  is 
not  strong  enough  to  stand  alone,  move  forward  by  its  own 
motion  and  think  out  things  on  its  own  account,  is  only  a 
plodder  and  no  teacher  at  all.  But  even  this  is  not  all.  My 
thought  today  is  that  there  is  another  element  in  the  essen- 
tial equipment  of  a  good  teacher.  If  more  difficult  to 
describe,  if  more  troublesome  to  cultivate,  it  is  even  more 
indispensable  to  the  happiness  of  the  individual,  to  her  in- 
fluence upon  others, and  to  the  effectiveness  and  fruitfulness  of 
her  work. 

I  refer  to  the  power  which  moves  the  machinery  of  life, 
the  motives  which  inspire  action,  and  the  quality  of  the  faith 
which  characterizes  works.  The  heart  as  well  as  the  mind 
is  involved  in  the  vocation  of  the  teacher.  The  emotional  as 
well  as  intellectual  elements  of  human  nature  necessarily 
play  important  parts  in  the  work  of  training  others.  By  the 
spirit  I  mean  the  emotional  nature  held  and  guided  by  reason ; 
the  intellectual  nature  propelled  and  determined  by  the 
nobler  emotions.  It  is  not  the  physical  nature.  The  body 
without  the  spirit  is  dead.  It  is  the  life-principle,  the  im- 
mortal part,  the  power-producing  part,  the  energy,  the 
vivacity,  the  ardor,  the  attachments,  the  courage,  which 
determine  what  shall  be  undertaken,  and  then  puts  its  hand 
to  the  accomplishment  of  that  end  with  a  power  which  makes 
achievement  inevitable. 


Spirit  sees  opportunities  ;  it  recognizes  occasions  ;  it 
acts  with  spontaneity  when  the  time  comes.  It  manifests 
itself  according  to  circumstances  and  necessities. 

Let  me  illustrate.  In  the  winter  of  1892,  a  train,  for 
same  trivial  reason,  came  to  an  unusual  stop  near  the  village 
of  Hastings  on  the  New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River 
Railroad,  at  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  and  historic  part  of 
the  Hudson  River  valley.  The  unusual  stoppage  of  the  train 
created  the  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  unusual  care.  The 
rules  of  the  company  were  explicit.  It  became  the  imme- 
diate duty  of  the  trainman  who  had  charge  of  the  rear 
platform  to  take  his  lantern  and  go  back  and  warn  any 
approaching  train.  Mere  stick  that  he  proved  himself  to  be, 
if  he  had  only  followed  his  orders  all  would  have  been  well. 
It  was  dark,  but  not  stormy.  There  was  no  excuse.  If  he 
had  possessed  any  of  the  spirit  which  the  public  has  the  right 
to  expect  in  a  trainman,  he  would  have  met  the  occasion  and 
protected  his  train,  orders  or  no  orders.  He  had  no  spirit  ;  he 
disobeyed  his  orders  ;  the  through  express  crashed  into  the 
rear  of  the  standing  train,  a  score  of  people  were  killed  and  as 
many  more  maimed  and  mangled  for  life. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  after  this  unfort- 
unate occurrence,  I  left  Albany  to  come  west,  in  the  last 
car  of  the  second  section  of  the  south-western  limited 
express.  The  two  trains,  making  more  than  forty  miles  an 
hour,  were  less  than  thirty  minutes  apart.  The  weather  had 
become  very  cold,  the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale,  and  the 
.snow  was  so  thick  that  one  could  not  see  the  length  of  a  car. 
When  in  the  snow-belt  between  Utica  and  Syracuse  the 
the  engineer  whistled  so  sharply  and  the  air  brakes  were  set 
so  suddenly,  and  with  such  terriffic  effect,  that  it  was  evi- 
dent there  was  serious  occasion  for  an  abrupt  stop.  As  the 
train  slowed  up  and  stopped,  the  cries  of  a  man  were  heard 
outside.  Opening  the  rear  door,  the  figure  of  a  man  with 


unlighted  lamps,  climbed  up  into  the  vestibule  and  fell  upon 
the  platform  exhausted.  His  emotions  were  uncontrollable 
and  he  continually  murmured  "  I  stopped  her;  he  saw  me; 
I  brought  her  down."  Assisting  him  inside  the  car,  we 
slowly  gathered  the  facts.  This  was  the  rear  trainman  on 
the  first  section  of  our  double  train.  His  train  had  over- 
hauled a  freight  wreck  and  been  obliged  to  stop.  The 
circumstances  were  appalling,  the  danger  was  imminent,  but 
the  man  who  was  responsible,  proved  equal  to  the  emergency. 
He  buttoned  up  his  coat,  took  his  lamps  and  ran  up  the 
track,  into  the  darkness  and  the  blinding  storm.  If  he  had 
obeyed  his  orders  in  a  perfunctory  way  only,  it  would  have 
been  of  no  avail,  H  is  lamps  were  blown  out  and  he  exhausted 
his  last  matches  in  vain  efforts  to  relight  them  in  the  wind. 
Only  unusual  resources  would  now  distinguish  him  from  any 
tramp,  in  the  mind  of  the  engineer.  But  his  spirit  rose  to 
the  occasion.  Removing  his  coat  and  taking  that  in  one 
hand  and  his  lightless  lamps  in  the  other,  he  ran  on  up  the 
track.  Soon  our  train  came  in  sight.  He  followed  the 
track;  he  got  within  the  glare  of  the  headlight;  he  frantically 
swung  his  lamps  and  his  coat  and  hallooed  with  all  his  might 
to  the  monarch  in  the  cab;  he  heard  the  whistle  of  the 
engine  and  heard  the  brakes  take  hold,  got  off  the  track  as 
the  train  was  close  upon  him,  and,  as  it  stopped,  was  helped 
into  the  last  car.  That  was  spirit.  It  had  saved  his  train  ; 
perhaps  ours  also. 

Contrast  the  acts  cf  these  two  men  and  see  the  value  of 
spirit  in  the  affairs  of  life.  One  of  them  could  have  averted 
a  sickening  disaster,  by  mere  obedience  to  the  plain  require- 
ments of  the  service,  and  without  any  unusual  exertion,  and 
did  it  not.  When  the  shock  came,  he  was  probably 
occupied  in  finding  fault  with  some  one  because  his  train 
had  stopped.  He  was  not  worthy  the  name  of  man.  As 
Portia,  in  the  Merchant  of  Venice,  says  of  one  of  her  rejected 


lovers,  "  God  made  him,  and  so,  I  suppose,  we  shall  have  to 
let  him  pass  for  a  man."  The  other  could  not  avert  a  like 
disaster  by  mere  mechanical  obedience  to  requirements, 
but  only  by  thought,  quick  appreciation,  instant  action,  by 
drawing  upon  his  resources,  by  energy  and  nerve,  which 
never  thought  of  failing  and  never  doubted  the  result. 
Ah  !  under  his  rough  dress  there  was  the  true  heart  and  the 
buoyant  nature  of  a  man. 

"A    mans  a  man  for  a  that" 

Within  the  scope  of  his  employment,  within  the  line  of  his 
duty,  he  showed  spirit  of  the  very  highest  order.  The 
difference  in  results  was  the  difference  in  the  spirit  of  the 
two  men.  It  was  death  in  one  case  ;  it  was  life  in  the  other. 

If  the  spirit  of  the  employee  is  a  vital  element  in  the 
operations  of  that  important  institution,  the  railway  system, 
so  is  the  spirit  of  the  teacher  vital  to  that  infinitely  more 
important  institution,  the  public  school  system  of  the 
country.  It  must  be  of  a  different  kind,  it  must  manifest 
itself  in  very  different  ways,  but  it  must  be  no  less  effective 
in  its  consequences  and  accomplishments.  It  must  be  purer, 
finer,  stronger,  more  spontaneous,  more  versatile,  the  ever 
present  support  of  the  school,  and  the  never  failing  inspira- 
tion of  the  noblest  aspirations  of  the  human  family,  for 
whose  promotion  the  school  system  exists. 

Let  us  see  what  characteristic  qualities  we  are  justified 
in  looking  for  in  the  spirit  of  the  teacher  and  in  the  spirit  of 
the  schools. 

CULTURE. 

First,  we  must  expect  to  find  the  spirit  of  the  teacher 
marked  by  cultivation  and  culture .  The  teacher  has  had  some 
early  educational  advantages,  surely.  The  foundations  have 
been  at  least  fairly  well  laid.  There  is  something  to  build 
upon,  The  powers  of  the  mind  have,  at  least,  been  set  in  op- 


eration.  Opportunities  have  been  frequent  and  constant. 
The  habit  of  enquiry  and  investigation  must  have  been  ac- 
quired. The  surroundings  must  have  been  favorable;  there 
must  have  been  some  results.  Taste  has  been  aroused  and  it 
has  grown.  Then,  the  work  of  teacher  has  been  for  others. 
She  has  endeavored  to  open  the  minds  of  her  pupils 
and  arouse  their  powers.  She  has  become  interested 
in  them.  She  has  witnessed  the  development  of  the 
human  powers  ;  she  has  seen  minds  open  and  souls 
grow.  This  start  in  life,  th  s  environment  and  this 
experience  must  have  had  a  refining  influence  upon  her 
own  mind  and  her  own  soul.  With  all  the  tribulations 
and  annoyances,  if  the  true  teacher  has  developed,  the  im- 
mortal part  ot  her  nature  will  show  purity,  strength,  breadth 
of  information,  variety  of  accomplishment,  power  of  discrim- 
ination, delicacy  of  feeling  and  nobility  of  bearing,  which 
will  be  recognized  in  all  intellectual  and  cultivated  centers. 
The  gross  and  the  coarse,  common  to  all  human  nature,  will 
be  eliminatedgradually;  the  language,  the  manners,  the  style 
will  change;  the  life  will  be  keyed  to  the  music  of  the  human- 
ities; the  soul  will  aspire  to  the  heights  of  the  sublime. 

KINDNESS. 

Kindness  will  have  a  large  share  in  the  spirit  of  the 
teacher.  It  is  fortunate  that  it  is  so,  for  the  need  of  it  is 
great. 

The  child  is  not  an  inanimate,  unfeeling  thing.  He  is 
a  live,  active,  sensitive  being.  If  he  possesses  the  elements 
of  future  growth,  he  is  a  wilful,  perverse,  troublesome  being. 
He  may  b^  lovable,  he  may  be  repellant.  He  may  be  de- 
fective in  physical  or  mental  organization  :  he  may  be 
unfortunate  in  home  surroundings.  Whatever  the  conditions, 
he  is  in  the  hand  of  the  teacher  to  be  developed  and  trained. 
He  is  not  alone  ;  the  same  teacher  has  fifty  other  similar 


10 

charges.  The  parental  feeling  is  absent.  Yet  the  child  is  alto- 
gether subject  to  her.  Within  her  sphere  she  is  an  autocrat. 
She  may  manage  wisely,  kindly  and  justly,  and  commonly  she 
does.  She  may  rule  with  rank  injustice,  and  frequently  she 
does.  She  may  act  with  kindly  purpose  and  yet  injustice 
may  result.  She  may  be  taxed  to  the  limit  of  strength  and 
endurance.  She  may  be  inexperienced.  She  may  have 
wandered  into  a  state  of  chronic  severity  and  fretfulness. 
She  may  have  dyspepsia  and  mistake  it  for  principle.  But 
no  matter  what  the  circumstances,  her  power  is  unlimited. 
The  continuous  exercise  of  power  over  inferior  or  younger 
minds  is  unmistakably  dwarfing.  The  tendency  to  favoritism 
is  natural;  we  all  like  pleasant  people  and  nice  children  better 
than  disagreeable  people  and  repellant  children.  The 
teacher  is  in  this  regard  at  least  not  so  very  different  from 
other  people.  Government  in  the  school  room  is  so  absolute 
that  the  danger  is  apparent.  A  word,  a  mark,  a  look  may 
be  the  effective  instrument  of  injustice,  and  injustice  inflicts 
a  deeper  wound  upon  the  temperament  of  the  child  than  we 
are  accustomed  to  think.  He  has  keener  perception  and 
deeper  feeling  than  we  suppose.  Look  back,  recall  exper- 
iences, and  ponder.  The  child's  troubles  seem  trivial  to 
adults,  but  they  are  real  to  him ;  his  suffering  is  acute. 
Yet  he  has  no  appeal  ;  he  is  without  redress  ;  if  he  has 
been  the  subject  of  mistakes  or  mistreatment  it  is  thought 
to  be*  a  mistake  to  tell  him  of  it.  And  so  we  should  reason 
that  there  might  be  injustice,  while  we  know  from  experience, 
at  least  I  do,  that  there  is  injustice  in  the  schools. 

That  there  is  no  more,  is  owing  to  the  large  element  of 
kindness  which  is  developed  in  the  spirit  of  the  true  teacher. 
Nourish  and  cultivate  it;  do  not  repress  it.  There  is  no  dan- 
ger of  too  much  of  it.  There  is  no  posssibility  of  erring  on 
the  right  side.  There  can  be  none  too  much  justice  meted 
out  to  childhood.  Guard  against  injustice  if  you  would 


11 

fortify  your  position;  indulge  in  favoritism  if  you  would  im- 
pair and  undermine  it.  But  kindness  means  more  than 
justice.  Equal  and  exact  justice  is  the  right  of  every  child 
in  the  schools  and  he  knows  it.  We  are  not  to  stand  upon  a 
mere  question  of  rights,  however.  We  are  not  to  prevent 
contact  and  association  with  pupils.  'I  hey  are  entitled  to  a 
time  when  they  may  make  explanations  and  prefer  requests 
outside  of  the  class  hour  and  in  a  familiar  and  confidential 
way.  Matters  will  go  more  smoothly  if  it  is  allowed.  It  means 
everything  to  the  pupil  ;  it  may  mean  much  to  the  teacher. 
We  are  to  help  this  child  up  to  manhood  and  womanhood 
and  good  citizenship.  Kindness  will  unlock  his  heart  and 
uplift  his  soul.  It  will  gain  his  allegiance  and  draw  out  the 
best  that  is  in  him.  Let  it  be  ever  present.  Let  the  stream 
never  fail.  Let  it  increase  in  volume  and  in  power.  It  will 
make  the  school  room  attractive  to  you  and  to  him,  it  will 
render  your  name  a  fragrant  memory  in  his  later  years,  and 
when  life's  lengthened  shadows  encompass  you,  it  will  light 
your  pathway  up  to  the  Invisible  and  the  Unknown. 

COURTESY. 

Kindness  in  the  school  means  courtesy  to  the  public. 
It  is  not  alway  easy  to  render  it.  You  are  brought  in  con- 
tact with  all  manner  of  people,  the  ignorant  and  rude  as 
well  as  the  cultured.  You  meet  people  most  commonly 
upon  a  subject  concerning  which  they  are  much  interested 
and  most  sensitive,  and  about  which  you  are  very  liable  to  mis- 
interpretation, for  their  own  children  are  the  informants.  It 
is  not  necessary  for  me  to  say  that  the  circumstances  are 
frequently  trying.  However  there  is  but  one  course  to 
pursue.  Patience  must  never  fail.  If  the  treatment  of  the 
child  has  been  kindly,  if  the  teacher's  duty  has  been  fully 
discharged,  disagreeable  interviews  will  not  be  numerous 
and  when  one  occurs  there  will  be  no  occasion  to  fear.  In 
any  event,  and  upon  all  occasions,  the  person  who  stands 


12 

as  the  representative  of  the  public  school  system  must  treat 
every  one  with  whom  her  work  brings  her  in  contact,  and 
especially  every  parent  of  one  of  her  pupils,  with  considerate 
attention  and  courtesy.  It  is  not  for  her  to  assume  an 
attitude  of  antagonism  or  of  disagreeable  superiority;  she  is 
neither  to  be  indifferent  nor  to  appear  indifferent  ;  she  is  not 
to  say  things  which  will  wound  the  parent  concerning  his 
child,  when  unnecessary,  even  though  they  are  true. 
She  is  to  smooth  out  troubles,  she  is  to  help  the  parent  and 
the  child,  and  she  is  to  show  that  she  is  anxious  to  help 
them.  She  is  to  do  it  because  it  is  the  right  thing  to  do, 
and  because  it  is  in  her  heart  to  do  it.  She  is  to  do  it  with 
real  and  true  diplomacy.  Her  spirit  in  this  regard  and 
ability  in  these  directions  will  be  a  very  excellent  measure 
of  her  strength  and  fitness  as  a  teacher.  If  she  fails  here 
she  will  weaken  her  position  beyond  recovery,  and  ought  to. 
But  a  spirit  which  radiates  kindness  to  the  pupil  and  court- 
esy to  the  public  will  make  her  secure. 

TRUTH . 

If  there  is  any  one  spirit  which  I  would  have  uppermost 
in  the  work  of  these  schools,  it  is  the  spirit  of  truth. 

"  There  is  nothing  so  kingly  as  kindness, 
There  is  nothing  so  royal  as  truth." 

It  is  the  foundation  of  character.  The  other  virtues 
rest  upon  it.  If  the  principle  of  truth  is  established,  the 
other  elements  of  an  honorable  career  will  be  likely  to 
follow  along  in  their  own  good  time.  Therefore,  the  spirit 
of  the  teacher  must  be  the  spirit  of  truth  ;  the  truth  must  be 
held  up  to  the  admiration  of  the  school  ;  and  all  things  must 
be  done  to  give  it  an  abiding  place  in  the  lives  of  all. 

There  is  no  unpardonable  sin  in  childhood,  and  there- 
fore falsehood  is  not  an  unpardonable  sin  with  children.  It 
is  a  very  common  one  ;  it  is  a  very  trying  and  reprehensible 
one.  It  should  be  made  the  sin  of  sins  among  children, 
and  the  power  of  the  schools  should  be  centered  upon  the 


13 

correction  of  the  evil.  If  the  public  schools  could  bestow 
even  the  elements  of  an  education  upon  every  American 
child,  and  could  make  a  sound  regard  for  the  truth  an  ele- 
ment in  his  character,  American  citizenship  would  be  safe, 
and  the  Republic  would  stand  as  long  as  governments 
continue  upon  the  earth. 

Act  the  truth.  Do  not  pretend  to  know  things  you  do 
not  know.  Do  not  insist  upon  things  about  which  you  are 
uncertain.  Even  a  child  does  not  expect  a  teacher  to  be  the 
embodiment  of  all  wisdom.  If  she  claims  it,  he  knows  she  is 
masquerading  ;  if  she  admits  a  doubt,  he  knows  she  is  acting 
truly  ;  he  sees  that  he  and  his  teacher  have  some  things  in 
common  ;  she  has  a  stronger  hold  upon  him. 

I  know  a  boy  who  handed  up  his  written  spelling  lesson 
for  correction.  The  teacher  marked  a  word  as  incorrect, 
which  he  thought  was  spelled  correctly.  He  gathered  up 
his  courage  and  told  her  he  thought  she  had  made  a  mis- 
take. She  brushed  him  aside  with  an  indignant  remark, 
about  doubting  her  ability  to  spell.  In  ten  minutes  he  saw 
her  engaged  in  profound  communion  with  the  dictionary. 
He  gained  confidence.  She  said  nothing,  but  seemed  de- 
jected. He  put  his  paper  in  his  pocket  and  went  home,  and 
consulted  his  dictionary.  He  had  spelled  the  word  correctly. 
She  had  lost  his  good  opinion  forever.  It  was  a  serious 
loss,  but  who  shall  say  that  she  did  not  pay  the  proper 
penalty  of  her  act.  She  had  made  a  mistake.  It  was  not 
serious  at  the  outset.  It  was  a  comparatively  small  matter 
that  she  had  an  erroneous  impression  about  the  spelling  of 
the  word.  But  persistence  after  she  knew  better  was  acting 
an  untruth.  It  was  utterly  inexcusable.  It  was  im- 
politic too.  Suppose  she  had  given  him  only  what  was  his 
due  and  said,  "My  boy,  I  was  hasty  and  wrong  about  that;  you 
were  right  ;  I  will  have  to  be  more  careful  next  time."  He 
would  have  been  exultant,  but  that  would  not  have  humili- 


14 

ated  her.  She  would  have  gained  his  respect  and  his 
friendship  as  well. 

In  another  case,  a  teacher  in  this  city  told  Mary,  a 
young  Miss  among  her  pupils,  that  Martha,  her  intimate 
girl  friend,  was  headstrong  and  flighty  and  not  doing  well, 
and  asked  her  to  exert  her  influence  over  her  and  help  her 
reclaim  the  wayward  sister.  The  teacher  told  Martha  the 
same  things  about  Mary  and  exacted  her  help  to  recover  the 
other  sinner  from  destruction.  Neither  of  the  girls  was  in 
danger.  The  teacher  did  not  think  they  were.  She  prob- 
ably meant  well  enough.  She  intended  to  profit  each  girl 
by  getting  her  interested  in  helping  the  other.  But  she 
did  not  think  far  enough  or  as  truly  as  she  ought.  The  girls 
compared  notes.  They  discovered  that  there  was  an  ele- 
ment of  deception  about  the  matter  and  the  result  was  not 
particularly  helpful  to  the  teacher. 

There  is  mathematical  accuracy  about  the  truth.  It 
always  fits  together.  There  is  no  safe  compromise  ground. 
The  danger  signal  is  upon  the  border  line.  Truth  or  untruth 
may  be  acted  as  well  as  spoken.  It  is  not  necessary  at  all 
times  to  tell  all  that  is  true.  But  whatever  is  said  and  what- 
ever is  done  in  the  schools,  is  to  be  open  and  straightfor- 
ward, wholly  within  the  bounds  of  truth. 

In  nothing  more  than  in  this  matter  does  the  spirit  of 
the  teacher  make  the  tone  of  the  school.  Put  a  premium 
upon  the  truth.  Never  doubt  a  child's  word  lightly  or  for 
insufficient  reason.  Expect  and  assume  that  he  will  tell  the 
truth.  Trust  him  and  it  will  help  him.  Do  not  punish  him 
by  word  or  sign  or  deed,  simply  because  he  owns  his  faults. 
Forgive  him  for  his  shortcomings  and  reward  him  with  your 
entire  confidence  if  he  will  tell  you  the  exact  truth.  Then 
the  spirit  of  truth  will  flourish  in  your  school  and  character 
will  grow  under  your  roof. 


15 

NATURALNESS. 

In  the  plan  of  the  old  education  the  school  was  a  place 
of  detention,  the  work  was  only  routine  and  the  teacher  was 
the  embodiment  of  force.  Jn  the  plan  of  the  new  education 
the  school  is  a  work-shop;  the  teacher  is  a  helper;  all  are  to 
do  original  work  together.  The  new  plan  is  infinitely  better 
than  the  old.  Keep  in  line  with  it. 

The  teacher  will  be  a  learner;  the  teacher  must  be  a 
learner.  Upon  no  other  principle  can  the  work  proceed.  The 
stream  will  dry  up  unless  it  be  continually  augmented.  The 
power  will  give  out  unless  it  is  constantly  reinforced.  Work 
with  the  school  and  all  will  go  well. 

Be  true;  be  yourself;  be  natural.  Do  not  be  over  seri- 
ous. Let  the  children  be  children.  Let  nature  in, — human 
nature,  and  animal  nature  and  vegetable  nature.  How  it  will 
bring  interest  to  the  work  of  the  schools!  How  it  will  open  the 
minds  of  the  children,  give  them  affection  for  animal  life, 
and  send  them  hunting  in  the  fields  and  the  woods  for  the 
products  of  nature!  Talk  in  conversational  tones  and  use 
expressions  that  are  natural.  Do  things  in  ordinary  ways. 
Let  the  spirit  of  the  school  copy  the  spirit  of  a  well  ordered 
home,  where  all  interests  are  the  same,  where  all  the  mem- 
bers have  common  rights, where  the  weak  or  the  unfortunate 
are  given  the  most  help,  where  natural  characteristics  find 
ready  expression,  and  all  work  pleasurably  and  happily 
together  for  the  common  good. 

CHEERFULNESS. 

One  of  the  most  unmistakable  tendencies  of  school 
work  is  to  warp  the  temperament  of  the  teacher.  A  life  which 
is  devoted  to  teaching  must  be  upon  its  guard.  If  not,  it  is 
quite  liable  to  drift  into  a  petulant  and  ascetic  state,  and  then 
its  power  for  usefulness  is  almost  destroyed.  If  it  avoids 
the  danger,  it  will  grow  richer  and  stronger,  happier  and 
more  potent  for  good,  with  the  accumulating  years. 


16 

Cheerfulness  of  spirit  is  the  product  of  a  kind  heart  and 
a  wise  head.  It  is  an  invaluable  product.  Let  good  cheer 
fill  the  room.  It  is  as  vital  to  the  healthful  development  of 
child  nature,  as  water  and  sunshine  are  to  the  healthful 
growth  of  plants.  The  school  room  where  good  cheer  does 
not  reign  is  a  desolate  place,  and  the  children  who  occupy  it 
are  unfortunate  objects  of  sympathy.  Child-life  is  impres- 
sionable. It  needs  help.  It  responds  quickly.  Deny  it  the 
light  and  warmth  and  it  will  be  stunted  and  dwarfed;  it  may 
be  utterly  ruined.  Nourish  it  and  it  will  be  the  noblest  work 
of  the  Almighty.  Like  begets  like.  A  solemn,  funereal  and 
complaining  teacher  develops  peevish,  fretful  and  disagree- 
able children.  Fretfulness  is  ill-mannered;  it  is  no  less  ill- 
mannered  in  a  teacher  than  in  any  other  person;  it  is  even 
more  so,  for  it  reproduces  itself;  it  makes  ill-mannered  child- 
ren. Cheerfulness  is  contagious  also  It  extends,  repro- 
duces and  perpetuates  itself.  It  will  make  the  desert 
blossom  as  the  rose.  As  children  need  it,  so  they  love  it. 
They  drink  it  in,  brighten  up,  look  heavenward  and  begin  to 
grow.  It  calls  out  the  best  that  is  in  them.  The  better  and 
nobler  tendencies  gain  strength  and  exert  their  influence 
upon  others .  I  f  you  have  a  sunny  and  buoyant  temperament 
you  cannot  be  too  thankful  for  it.  If  you  have  it  not.  do  not 
be  discouraged,  for  it  may  be  acquired.  It  is  an  acquisition 
even  more  imperative  to  your  work  than  a  knowledge  of 
English  or  Mathematics.  Strive  for  it.  It  will  bring  you 
happiness  and  give  you  power. 

STEADINESS. 

The  character  of  the  teacher  must  be  steady.  There 
must  be  self-control.  The  spirit  must  be  courageous.  It 
must  understand  the  ground  it  occupies  and  maintain  it.  It 
must  know  the  course  it  is  to  pursue  and  hold  to  it  It  need 
not  be  unduly  elated,  and  certainly  it  must  not  be  unduly 
cast  down  by  the  daily  incidents  of  the  school.  It  must 


remember  that  there  have  been  other  days  and  that  there 
will  be  other  days.  It  must  not  fret  or  worry  over  common- 
place matters.  It  must  meet  its  responsibilities  squarely, 
promptly.  It  must  keep  moving  ahead.  Even  if  a  duty  of 
unusual  import  falls  upon  the  teacher  she  need  not  go  into 
a  decline  over  it.  There  is  no  occasion  even  then  for 
speculating  upon  the  unfathomable  or  reaching  after  the 
unattainable.  She  is  to  meet  it  without  reflecting  more  than 
a  week  upon  it,  without  discussing  it  until  undue  mystery 
and  trouble  seem  to  encompass  it.  She  is  to  act  deliberately, 
with  the  best  sense  she  has  and  in  the  best  way  she  can. 
No  one  expects  more.  In  ninety-nine  times  of  a  hundred,  it 
will  be  all  right.  In  the  hundredth  time  some  one  will  help 
her  make  it  all  right.  She  must  have  her  wits  about  her, 
and  rise  to  meet  any  unusual  occasion.  She  must  be  strong 
and  steady  enough  to  be  counted  upon  ;  she  must  have  the 
reliability  which  is  the  foundation  of  confidence.  All  this  is 
somewhat  a  matter  of  character,  somewhat  a  matter  of 
experience.  It  may  be  acquired.  Strive  for  it.  It  is  jewel. 
Do  not  be  afraid.  If  the  purposes  are  sound  there  is 
nothing  to  fear.  Bear  up  bravely,  cheerily,  and  keep  going 
ahead.  Never  mind  the  possibility  of  mistakes.  They  are 
comparatively  few  and  of  small  consequence  if  the  head  is 
clear  and  the  heart  all  right.  He  who  never  makes  mis- 
takes never  accomplishes  things.  Push  on  steadily,  hope- 
fully, doing  things  as  they  may  come  to  your  hand,  thinking 
of  things  which  ought  to  be  done  and  you  will  gather  strength 
and  confidence,  you  will  gain  standing  and  influence,  and 
you  will  steady  the  whole  system  and  support  the  entire 

work. 

PATRIOTISM. 

The  spirit  of  patriotism  must  pervade  the  schools.  It 
has  come  into  them  with  new  strength  and  meaning  in  these 
recent  months.  It  is  to  be  encouraged  by  every  proper  in. 
strumentality.  The  instrumentality  more  potent  than  any 


other  is  the  soul  and  spirit  of  the  teacher.  Mr.  Emerson 
said  it  made  not  so  much  difference  what  one  studies  as 
whom  he  studies  with  Flags  are  of  small  moment  except 
as  they  are  suggestive  and  emblematical.  You  may  display 
in  these  schools  all  the  bullet-riddled  battle  flags  which  the 
gallant  soldiers  of  the  Union  Armies  carried  so  proudly  up 
the  great  Avenue  of  the  Capitol  City  on  the  famous  review 
at  the  close  of  the  rebellion,  and  the  effect  will  be  Jost  unless 
the  teacher  knows  American  history,  unless  she  can  recall 
the  cost  and  understands  the  value  of  our  distinguishing 
American  institutions,  unless  she  sees  at  a  glance  what  the 
ilag  means,  unless  her  spirit  is  attuned  and  her  feet  keep  step 
to  the  music  of  the  Union.  But  if  she  does  know,  and  if  she 
does  see,  and  if  she  does  feel,  there  will  indeed  be  patriotism 
in  the  school,  flag  or  no  flag. 

Other  nations  understand  this  and  act  upon  it.  In 
Germany  the  teacher  is,  in  law,  an  officer  of  the  state,  is 
sworn  to  support  the  government,  obey  its  laws  and  promote 
its  interests  in  all  conceivable  ways.  The  arrangement  of 
the  room,  the  books  that  are  used,  the  songs  that  are  sung, 
all  the  words  spoken  and  all  the  things  done,  are  made  to 
give  significance  to  the  three  colored  flag-  and  contribute  to 
the  greatness  of  the  Fatherland.  In  France  no  person  can 
enter  the  service  of  the  schools  who  is  not  a  native  French- 
man. Every  precaution  is  observed  to  have  the  heart  of  the 
teacher  pulsate  in  harmony  with  the  heart  of  the  state,  and 
every  means  taken  to  bring  the  help  of  the  teacher  to  the 
support  of  the  state. 

The  American  public  school,  as  I  remarked  at  the 
beginning,  has  grown  to  be  the  greatest  of  American  insti- 
tutions. It  has  come  to  have  an  autonomy  and  a  purpose 
of  its  own.  To  understand  and  promote  this  purpose  is  a 
prime  duty  of  every  teacher  in  the  schools,  and  before  one 
can  do  this  he  must  recall  the  history  and  study  the  growth 
of  the  public  school  system. 

We  cannot  rehearse  the  fascinating  story  this  morning, 
but  we  may  study  it  with  profit  at  our  leisure.  In  a  word, 
we  may  say  now,  that  the  time  was,  and  it  is  not  so  very 
long  ago,  when  American  schools  were  merely  local,  unre- 


19 

lated  and  elementary,  when  they  were  poorly  sustained, 
when  but  little  was  taught,  and  that  was  not  taught  well. 
There  were  schools  or  not  as  settlements  saw  fit.  The  idea 
that  education  was  a  matter  of  private  concern,  that  if  schools 
were  to  be  kept  at  all  they  must  be  supported  by  those  who 
had  children  to  send  to  them,  universally  prevailed.  By 
gradual  process  this  has  all  been  changed.  The  state 
exercises  its  authority  in  the  matter.  It  undertakes  to  see 
that  a  school  is  maintained  within  reach  of  ev£ry  home.  So 
far  as  it  thinks  well  it  determines  the  character  and  regulates 
the  work  of  the  school.  It  relates  all  the  schools  together 
in  a  common  system.  It  pledges  all  the  property  of  the 
people  to  the  education  of  the  children  of  all  the  people. 
The  poor  have  opportunities  equal  to  the  rich.  The  right 
to  an  education  is  the  inheritance  of  every  American  child. 

There  is  plan  and  purpose  behind  all  this.  There  has 
been  occasion  and  necessity  for  this  change  in  theory  and  in 
practice.  The  education  of  American  children  has  ceased  to 
be  merely  a  matter  of  personal  interest  and  come  to  be  one 
of  grave  public  concern,  because  it  became  evident  that  a 
great  free  state,  with  unlimited  suffrage,  must  have  the  gen- 
eral intelligence  and  the  substantial  character  of  the  peo- 
ple for  its  foundation  stones. 

The  public  school  system  has  come  to  be  the  main  hope 
of  the  nation.  It  is  the  national  stomach  bound  to  digest  all 
kinds  of  national  food  and  make  pure  blood.  It  is  to  assimi- 
late all  kinds  of  people  and  convert  them  into  good  citizens. 
In  this  American  system  of  schools  the  predominant 
characteristics  of  our  future  American  citizenship  are  being, 
and  must  continue  to  be  developed. 

The  responsibility  is  appalling,  but  we  believe  the 
Public  School  can  meet  it.  There  is  ground  for  the  belief. 
Look  at  the  little  folks  in  our  first  and  second  grades  and 
see  them  again  in  the  sixth,  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  and 
then  see  those  again  whom  we  are  able  to  keep  through  the 
High  School  course,  and  courage  will  gain  confidence  and 
hopes  will  become  convictions. 

The  spirit  of  the  teacher  must  throb  with  the  spirit  of 
this  work.  She  must  enter  into  the  purposes  of  the  state. 
She  must  know  the  proud  story  of  the  national  life;  she 


must  be  familiar  with  its  literature;  she  must  be  able  to  tell 
the  achievements  of  its  great  men  who  have  borne  the  bur- 
dens of  its  councils  or  offered  their  lives  for  its  life;  she 
must  understand  the  plan  and  framework  of  the  government; 
she  must  value  our  distinguishing  institutions  and  sympa- 
thize with  the  true  spirit  and  the  aspirations  of  the  American 
Republic,  like  which  there  is  none  other  in  the  world;  she 
must  discern  the  danger  points;  she  must  make  every  child 
under  her  influence  so  proud  of  the  American  name  that  he 
will  hold  it  in  jealous  keeping,  and  so  loyal  to  the  flag  that 
if  need  be,  he  will  carry  it  through  the  blaze  and  hail  of 
battle. 

Thus,  and  thus  only,  can  the  theory  upon  which  we  are 
proceeding  be  justified  and  the  citizenship  of  the  country  be 
made  secure. 

REGARD  FOR  ASSOCIATES. 

Up  to  this  time  we  have  been  speaking  of  the  spirit  of 
the  individual  teacher.  In  large  cities  where  many  hundreds 
of  teachers  are  employed,  influences  will  be  at  work,  which 
are  always  incidental  to  the  multiplication  of  numbers. 
There  is  a  necessity  for  organization  and  co-operation  to  the 
end  that  there  may  be  order,  system,  singleness  of  purpose 
and  efficiency  of  action.  In  all  organizations  comprising 
many  persons,  individuality  must  give  way  to  some  extent. 
Personal  preferences  must  yield;  desires  cannot  all  be  accom- 
modated. Even  apparent  injustice  may  be  unavoidable  upon 
occasions.  When  some  positions  are  more  responsible  and 
more  remunerative  than  others,  the  necessity  for  selection 
and  discrimination  frequently  arises  and  this  may  be  prolific 
of  disappointments  and  jealousies,  and  these  may,  in  turn, 
paralize  the  work  of  the  teacher  and  nullify  the  operations  of 
the  schools.  The  danger  which  arises  from  idle  talk  is  imi- 
nent.  Slight  occurrences  may  be  magnified  beyond  recog- 
nition. Stories  start,  no  one  knows  where  or  how,  and 
travel  all  through  the  system  with  marvelous  rapidity.  The 
interests  of  individuals,  even  reputations  are  toyed  with  as  a 
ball  or  a  doll  might  be.  Great  harm  results.  If  these  things 
are  not  guarded  against,  the  consequences  are  worse  than 
one  would  believe  and  worse  than  I  can  describe  or  care  to. 
There  are  a  thousand  difficulties  encompassing  the  position 


-21 

of  the   teacher   and   the   work  of  the  schools  in  a  great  city 
which  are  not  found  in  a  small  community. 

All  this  calls  for  added  consideration  and  care  on  the 
part  of  the  city  teacher.  It  is  imperative  that  her  spirit  be 
infused  with  other  qualities  if  she  would  live  in  comfort  and 
have  satisfaction  in  her  work.  There  must  be  a  ready  and 
cheerful  compliance  with  regime,  a  prompt  acquiescence  in 
the  limitations  and  the  demands  ot  the  service.  She  must 
keep  within  the  lines  of  organization  and  be  obedient  to  dis- 
cipline. These  things  are  not  irksome,  unless  they  are 
made  so.  If  they  are,  she  ought  to  withdraw  from  the  ser- 
vice for  she  is  not  adapted  to  it:  there  is  no  other  way. 
She  must  remember  that  there  is  mutuality  of  obligations. 
She  must  know  what  she  has  the  right  to  expect  from 
others  and  what  others  have  the  right  to  expect  from  her. 
She  must  apply  the  golden  rule.  She  must  respect  the  in- 
terests of  another  as  she  would  have  others  respect  her  in- 
terests. If  she  cannot  speak  well  of  another,  it  is  ordi- 
narily better  that  she  should  speak  not  at  all.  She  must  be 
responsive  and  helpful.  She  is  truly  wise  if  she  will  not 
think  so  much  upon  her  own  rights  and  probabilities  of  ad- 
vancement as  upon  what  she  can  do  for  self  improvement, 
for  the  help  of  others,  and  for  the  common  good.  Those 
who  do  this  will  inevitably  get  on  the  most  rapidly,  for 
they  must  thus  gain  the  respect  of  their  associates  and  prove 
their  capacity  for  higher  trusts. 

THE  RIGHT  SPIRIT  IMPERATIVE  TO  SUCCESS. 

This  is  a  difficult  subject  to  treat.  The  matter  is  one 
of  which  we  think  much,  of  which  there  is  frequent  occasion 
to  speak  in  the  Superintendent's  office,  but  when  one  under- 
takes to  put  thoughts  concerning  it  in  form  for  a  public 
address  the  words  do  not  flow  very  readily  and  perhaps  not 
very  felicitously. 

There  is  also  the  liability  of  being  misunderstood.  You 
may  infer  that  I  am  unmindful  of  facts,  or  unappreciative  of 
what  may  be  said  in  favor  of  the  spirit  of  these  teachers  and 
this  entire  force.  But  your  inference  would  not  be  justified. 
Our  acquaintance  has  not  been  of  long  duration  but  it  has 
been  sufficiently  long  to  enable  me  to  see  many  things 


which  are  most  commendable.  I  have  seen  the  work  in 
your  school  rooms  and  in  general  it  is  worthy  of  praise.  I 
have  seen  you  come  across  this  broad  city  with  promptness 
and  enthusiasm  many  times  at  the  end  of  a  tiresome  day's 
work,  ,'ind  often  in  the  storm  and  the  cold,  to  attend  your 
grade  met- tings  and  I  have  seen  your  manifest  interest  in  the 
instruction  and  have  been  deeply  impressed  with  it  I  have 
seen  four  hundred  of  you  come  each  week,  and  voluntarily, 
to  the  Extension  Course  of  lectures  upon  American  Litera- 
ture, and  pay  for  the  privilege,  and  I  have  admired  the  spirit 
and  purpose  which  prompted  you  to  do  it.  I  have  seen  your 
free  use  of  the  pedagogical  reading  room  and  I  have  been 
told  by  the  Librarian  of  the  Free  Library  that  the  leading 
books  in  the  teachers'  department  (thirty  to  forty  copies  of 
each)  are  continually  out  and  that  the  demand  exceeds  the 
supply  three  or  four  times  over,  and  I  have  not  been  dull  in 
understanding  what  it  meant.  I  sawyour  spirit  in  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  observance  of  Columbus  Day  and  again  in  the 
preparations  for  the  Chicago  Exhibit  and  I  have  seen  it  in 
other  innumerable  and  no  less  suggestive  ways,  and  it  has 
gained  my  respect  as  well  as  my  admiration.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ure to  speak  ot  these  things.  If  I  were  speaking  to  others, 
I  should  do  so  perhaps  with  greater  detail  and  stronger  em- 
phasis. But  nevertheless  I  know,  and  you  know,  that  there 
is  more  than  one  teacher  in  every  building  in  this  city  who 
must  meditate  upon  the  subject  of  this  address  if  she  is  to 
continue  in  this  work,  and  that  all  of  us,  in  all  ranks  and 
grades  of  the  service,  may  do  so  with  profit. 

A  right  spirit  is  imperative  to  a  teacher.  It  will  out- 
weigh many  other  considerations.  It  will  make  some  amends 
for  other  short-comings.  It  is  fully  as  important  as  mere 
intellectual  acquirements :  it  is  a  part  of  professional  training. 
But  it  stands  out  independent  of  either.  Indeed,  it  is  the 
anchor  of  safety,  the  guarantee  of  success.  One  who  has 
failed  in  one  place,  but  has  the  true  spirit,  may  be  trusted  to 
try  in  another  place,  and  she  will  profit  by  experience  and 
get  on.  One  who  is  to  work  with  us  must  have  sound 
relations  with  the  workers  and  come  into  full  sympathy  with 
the  work.  It  is  worse  than  idle,  it  is  wrong,  to  temporize  about 
the  matter.  Time  is  too  valuable  and  the  interests  are  too 


great.  This  is  a  matter  of  grave  import  to  all.  The  spirit 
of  the  teacher  is  an  important  element  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant element  to  be  considered  in  determining  promotions. 
It  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  best  service  I  could  render  you 
to-day  would  be  to  open  up  the  subject  and  tell  you  so. 

PREFERMENT  UPON  THE  BASIS  OF  MERIT. 

There  is  another  word  which,  perhaps  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, you  are  entitled  to  hear  me  say.  A  teacher  is 
not  5-0  entirely  angelic  that  she  can  be  expected  to  manifest 
the  true  spirit  and  do  the  best  work  if  she  is  to  be  contin- 
ually harrassed  She  must  possess  a  satisfied  and  contented 
mind.  She  must  know  that  she  is  not  going  to  be  superceded 
and  humiliated  by  the  influences  and  machination  of  others. 
She  needs  psychological  study  but  she  needs  justice  none 
the  less.  She  must  be  able  to  respect  the  organization  of 
which  she  is  a  part.  She  must  have  confidence  in  its 
management. 

I  will  do  what  I  can  to  give  you  confidence  and  security. 
No  person  shall  be  appointed  upon  this  force  who,  after 
careful  inquiry,  is  not  believed  to  be  a  fit  associate,  intellect- 
ually qualified  for,  and  otherwise  adapted  to  the  service. 
An  academic  course  with  professional  training  or  specially 
successful  experience  will  have  to  be  shown  in  every  case. 
Other  things  being  equal  we  shall  ,give  preference  to  our 
own  people.  But  we  shall  get  the  best  teachers  we  can  find 
wherever  we  may  find  them.  Tenure  of  position  shall  be 
secure  except  for  cause.  Promotions  shall  be  determined 
upon  the  basis  of  merit.  Those  who  show  the  most  culture, 
those  \vho  gain  in  strength  and  adaptation  to  the  work,  those 
who  enter  into  it  with  most  zest,  those  who  do  the  most  to 
bring  credit  to  the  service,  those  who  are  the  most  kindly,  and 
courteous,  and  steady,  and  helpful,  and  patient,  those  who 
provoke  the  least  friction,  those  who  show  that  they  can  bear 
responsibility  most  safely  will  be  advanced,  as  opportunity 
may  occur,  to  the  positions  of  highest  trust  and  responsibility. 
Indifference  shall  go  to  the  wall.  Incompatibility  of 
temperament  will  be  sent  to  Buffalo,  or  to  Cincinnati  or  to 
Coventry.  I  am  not  above  advice  or  suggestion:  I  want 
information.  But  any  attempt  to  exert  an  outside  influence, 


24 

not  in  accord  with  this  plan  of  operations,  is  not  only  an 
injustice  to  you,  it  is  an  impertinence  to  me.  In  a  word,  the 
highest  efficiency  of  the  service  and  that  alone  shall  be 
the  criterion.  That  is  what  the  people  have  the  right  to 
demand;  that  will  make  good  schools;  that  will  gain  public  re- 
spect for  the  teachers;  that  will  be  exact  justice  to  individuals. 
In  addition  to  this  you  shall  be  protected  from  imposition  and 
shall  not  be  overtaxed  if  I  can  help  it,  and  I  think  I  can,  and 
every  thing  shall  be  done  which  all  the  willing  and  capable 
ones  can  do,  by  co-operating  together,  to  bring  honor  to  the 
fair  fame  of  the  Cleveland  Public  Schools. 

CONCLUSION. 

These  schools  are  the  people's  schools.  They  have 
established  them,  and  they  are  spending  much  effort  and 
vast  sums  of  money  to  maintain  them,  in  order  that  educa- 
tion may  be  universal,  that  the  life  of  the  city  may  be  well 
ordered,  and  that  the  citizenship  of  the  country  may  be  safe. 
The  difficulties  and  perplexities  of  the  work  grow  with  the 
passing  years  and  the  growth  of  the  city,  and  the  signs  of 
the  times  point  out  the  importance,  nay  the  necessity,  of  this 
great  undertaking  as  never  before.  Public  sentiment 
casts  great  responsibility  upon  the  schools,  perhaps  more 
than  it  ought;  but  never  mind  that  now.  The  people  are 
jealous  of  the  fame  and  solicitous  about  the  future  of  these 
schools.  The  fact  that  they  are  solicitous  is  the  great  fact. 
It  is  the  bow  of  promise  in  the  firmament  above  us.  We 
stand  as  the  representatives  of  the  people.  They  have  con- 
stituted us  their  trustees.  They  wish  us  well,  and  they  are 
hopeful.  We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  relationship;  we 
must  not  forget  the  nature  of  the  trust;  we  must  not  disap- 
point. We  have  no  need  to  disappoint.  We  are  intelli- 
gent and  we  are  not  without  experience.  We  know  what 
good  school  work  is.  and  we  know  the  conditions  upon 
which  it  may  be  performed.  There  is  no  element  of  chance 
or  uncertainty  in  the  problem  except  the  personal  element. 
With  the  true  spirit  of  the  teacher  and  with  concerted  action 
we  can  justify  the  highest  hopes  and  develop  the  most  effect- 
ive city  school  system  in  America,  and  I  am  confident  we 
will. 


S  25 

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